Thirty Words
by Konsui's Little Brother
Summary: Every word has a different meaning depending on who's using it. For Neville, these thirty words spark a meaning no one would expect.


A/N: I've done these for other fandoms and, since I love Neville so much, I just figured why not?

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><p>1. Book: It's on the paper pages and in between the written word that Neville finds himself at home.<p>

2. Cool: If there is one thing that Neville has always been sure of, it is that he is as far from being 'cool' as Hermione is from dumb and the Weasely Twins are from being serious; that's how it is and that's how it always will be.

3. Cold: It was an unusually hot day, almost summer vacation, but sitting out there in the green house, all alone while the other children laughed and talked during their free-period, Neville felt an undeniable chill; and it shook him all the way down to his core.

4. Young: It's his seventh year at Hogwarts, his last year, and with the Dark Lord rising to power quicker then anyone ever thought he would and Death Eaters in the school, Neville was reminded of just how young he and the other students really were.

5. Wrong: There are nights, thankfully few and far between, when Neville will sit in bed and think: why is everything in the Wizarding World going so wrong?

6. Gentle: Spells and charms needed sharp, precise words; potions needed a calm and focused mind; it is only Herbology that thrives on a tender touch and a gentle hand, and it is his first year that Neville finds out that Herbology is his best subject.

7. Last: The last year was supposed to be something that everyone cherished; it was supposed to be filled with fond memories and ambitions for the future, with talks about jobs and ideas for families, not the torture that Neville was going through now.

8. One: A few days apart, a little bit more hate towards one family then the other, a choice that left the world reeling: that was all that kept Neville from being the Chosen One instead of Harry, that and nothing more.

9. Thousand: The castle walls shake, the students tremble, the teachers cast spell after spell; there are a thousand Death Eaters, maybe more, around them and Neville still manages to catch sight of Bellatrix.

10. King: _Weasely is our king_, the Slytherins cheer, and Neville finds himself wondering if that jeer has a different meaning to Ron then it does when he hears it.

11. Learn: It's hard to learn anything when the mere prescense of Proffesor Snape terrifies him and makes his mind go blank, his hands tremble, and event he things that Neville already knew dissapear from his thoughts.

12. Blur: Harry's just a blur of red and gold as he dashes for the snitch, Draco Malfoy flying right behind him, and Neville finds himself wondering what it would belike to fly without fear of falling.

13. Wait: It is the night before Neville turns eleven, just a few minutes before midnight, and he has to fight to keep himself awake and his eyes open; but he's determined to wait until his letter arrives so that he can show his Gran she still has someone to be proud of.

14. Change: It's been three months since the new year, Neville's eight year at school, started when Draco walks up to him: _you've changed, Longbottom_, he says, and Neville isn't sure if he's referring to the scars that now makr his face or the fact that even potions can't make him quake.

15. Command: It's reflex when Neville calls it out, _Dumbledore's Army_, at Voldemort's feet, nothing more than that.

16. Need: For the longest time, Neville thought that he needed to kill Bellatrix himself to get revenge for his parents condition; that thought changed the moment he saw the rage on Molly Weasely's face when it was her child being threatened.

17. Vison: Neville doesn't take Divination anymore, not since Trelawny had a 'vision' in hwich she said that there was nothing, not now and not in the future, that could heal his parents.

18. Attention: Jealousy is not something that suits Neville very well so, when he sees the teachers fawning over Harry and the other students flocking to be his friend, he just bites his tongue and turns his attention back to his plants.

19. Soul: Every person has a story to tell, each one part of a larger chapter, but it's only when no one believes in them or what they say that their soul starts to waver; not because they have been dubbed 'bad' by others.

20. Picture: One would think that, after six years of watching Neville flounder for a password and struggle with his words, the Fat Lady would just let him into the room when he couldn't remember the password.

21. Fool: They aren't his friends and he knows it, but he can't just tell them 'no' when they ask for his help.

22. Mad: It's after Defence Against The Dark Arts and Proffesor Moody is standing just at the end of the hall, beckoning him to follow, but Neville sees the glint in his teachers one real eye and knows that there's something just not quite _right_ about it.

23. Child: When the walls of Hogwarts are no longer safe, when Death Eaters lurk around every corner and Snape is the Headmaster, it is the First Years that Neville finds himself hovering around the most.

24. Now: During their eight year, the other students feel nothing but scorn and hatred for Draco, and the young Malfoy does nothing to stop the words; but Neville knew what it was like to be ignored and pranked all year long and so he goes up to the Slytherin, offers his hand, and tells him: _That was then, this is now._

25. Goodbye: It's the morning before Hogwarts and breakfast is a silent affair at the Longbottom house; Augusta sips her tea and reads her paper as Neville nibbles his toast and stares out the window, both knowing that tomorrow could be their final goodbye.

27. Hide: There were many nooks and cranies in Hogwarts, some magical and others not, but it's the Room Of Requirement that Neville is drawn too when he can no longer help fight the Carrows.

28. Fortune: Most kids collect Chocolate Frog Cards and claim that they are a forutne waiting to happen; Neville collects old gum wrappers and bits of torn up paper and claims that they are his heart.

29. Safe: _It's over_, someone breathes, and Neville wonders why he doesn't feel safe even if Voldemort is dead.

30. Ghost: Nearly Headless Nick is talkative, the Bloody Baron is terrifying, Peeves the Poltergeist is a jerk, but it's Moaning Myrtle that's the lonliest and it's her that Neville finds himself visiting the most.


End file.
